Eat!Drink!Italy! With Vic Rallo Jr., Honored With Two New York Emmy® Nominations

February 06, 2014 --

New York, New York (PRWEB) February 06, 2014

The 57th Annual New York Emmy® Award nominations have been announced and Eat!Drink!Italy! with Vic Rallo has been nominated for two awards in the categories of Best On-Camera Talent: Program Host/Moderator, and Informational/Instructional Program by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in New York. The nominations for the episode, Art Imitates Food which aired August 1st, 2013 on NJTV, recognizes new kid on the block host, Vic Rallo in the Best Host category with such TV luminaries as Paula Zahn and Jack Curry. The second category, which recognizes the quality and educational content of Eat!Drink!Italy! and overall program format, for award winning executive producer and director, Mark Ganguzza. The winner will be announced at the ceremony taking place in New York City on March 30th, 2014.

Eat! Drink! Italy! with Vic Rallo launched in July 2013 on WNET and has quickly become an educational and entertainment tour de force featuring the best of Italian culture, cuisine and wine. The show, which has just wrapped up filming a second season, gets its unique vibe from the outsized personality of series host, Vic Rallo, New Jersey restaurateur, author and Italian food and wine expert. His enthusiasm for the information he shares about Italian ingredients, technique, and history is contagious, with the potential to convert even the most casual foodie into an Italophile. Vic Rallo is also the owner of Basil Ts Brewery and Italian Grill in Red Bank, New Jersey and Undici Taverna Rustica in Rumson, and is recognized as one of the champions of truly authentic Italian cuisine in New Jersey. Vic has appeared on many national television shows including The Rachael Ray Show, CBS The Couch, Fox News & Good Day Live.

Eat!Drink!Italy! also features wine consultant Anthony Tony Verdoni, considered among the masters of Italian wines, noted for his prescient views about Italian wine and winemakers for decades, well before Italys wines began getting their due recognition. He is known by many in his industry as Il Professore, or the Professor. Verdoni contributes to the series by introducing viewers to Italys most sought after winemakers and the storied histories of generations of delectable nectars.

Rallo describes the announcement of the award for his first public television series as, An honor and privilege to be joining such talented television veterans in this category. The team at Eat!Drink!Italy! have worked so hard to bring the passion of Italy to television and to be recognized by the Academy is extremely exciting and humbling.

The shows award-winning executive producer and director, Mark Ganguzza sees the nomination as a great honor and states, We wanted to bring a fresh of breath air to one of public televisions most traditional genres. With the wealth of great content and Vics great energy and talent it looks like we have succeeded. John Servidio, General Manager of WLIW21 and NJTV added, We are excited that the effort and the risks taken have been recognized with this prestigious award nomination.

Eat! Drink! Italy! with Vic Rallo is a production of Sunburst Creative Group. The series is a presentation of WLIW21 in association with WNET and is distributed by American Public Television. John Servidio is executive in charge of production for WLIW21 in association with WNET. The series companion website, eatdrinkitaly.org, hosts full recipes featured in the episodes, food and wine features, show archives, station finder, series-related local event schedules, and more.

Eat! Drink! Italy! currently airs in 44% of the countrys key markets including New York, San Francisco and Boston. These markets are important for the first season of the food show as they reflect the most culturally diverse areas of the US and the positive reception reinforces consumers enthusiasm for high quality and informational lifestyle television. The television show, is also available digitally in almost 80% of all American households since October 2013, on Create, the digital public television network.

About Eat!Drink!Italy! with Vic Rallo Eat! Drink! Italy! with Vic Rallo, (http://www.eatdrinkitaly.org) takes television viewers on a fast-paced informative tour of Italys virtually world of limitless food and wine, from the Alps to the southern shores of Sicily, each week on PBS. Whether touring a cheese cave that was once one of Mussolinis bunkers, hunting for the elusive white truffle, exploring Napoleons wine tunnels, visiting a Slow Food superstar in her humble kitchen or going 20 meters underground to the very roots of one of Italys most celebrated wine varietals, Vic Rallo brings a unique perspective to the traditional format of television cooking series. Eat! Drink! Italy! with Vic Rallo is a production of Sunburst Creative Group.